Follow me as I join "an extraordinary group of Americans who have sought the challenges that are unique to Peace Corps service: the opportunity to live in a different culture, to learn a new language, and to forge lasting relationships with the people of Peru and fellow Volunteers" (taken from the Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook)

Monday, April 9, 2012

CEBE Caraz (Special Education School in Caraz)

The start of the year has me seeing much more kid time, especially at the special education school in Caraz. I'm working there two times a week (Wednesday and Friday), and I'm in charge of the kitchen. The volunteer before me (Christie) established a great kitchen/cafeteria that is fully loaded, so now I'm trying to use it to teach the older kids how to cook, clean, and eventually sell basic food. We've started with juice, and will soon be graduating up to Jello. Little by little we are teaching the kids basics of food and kitchen safety, how to clean, wash their hands, and prepare food. It can be stressful, but I like having constant work scheduled in the work week.

L to R: Diana, Yesi, and Ludy enjoy their juice.

Aprons, one of the first step to making kitchen masterpieces.

Boiling water.

Aida greeting some street kids.

Me presenting for the parents.

This was our first "escuela de padres", titled "Cuanto tiempo tiene por mi" ("How much time do you have for me?"), touching on time constraints related to having a child with disabilities, and how to prioritize to improve the student's education.

Me with the teachers, aides, physical therapist, and director after our "escuela de padres".